A Plague Upon Both Houses
by word crazy princess
Summary: Unable to escape, Luke finds himself the ally of a man who never wanted to be a hero. Unable to flee, Cloud is forced to taken on a role he never wanted. Neither man knows what to make of the other as Jenova, Sephiroth, Darth Vader, and the Empire hunt them across the stars. The corrupted Life Stream has touched the Galaxy and even the Empire is shaken by the unprecedented plague.
1. by will of gaia

Author's Note: I've taken several liberties to tie in these two worlds. I love them both and if I stick to canon on either side, this crossover wouldn't be possible. So I have taken Luke out of the skies and given Cloud nothing to rely on. You'll see other characters eventually. This is a non-yoai fic. If a pairing happens it will likely be LeiaxHan and CloudxTifa. I might consider others, I just haven't decided on it yet. Also, every chapter will be less than 500 words because they will be written on the nice and handy app that FFNet has produced. :)

Chapter 1

Luke Skywalker would never have suspected that one slight choice could ruin everything. A change of agenda, the search for a new base, the Empire hot on their tail. Darth Vader did not rest in his hunt for those with Force Sensitivity. The men and women who had come before him were faceless, but that didn't mean he didn't feel for them.

Stumbling forward, Luke slid across the broken desert terrain and looked up at the monolithic tomb of a city. The Alliance had thought the Planet would be a good place to scout for a base. Luke had been sent ahead for that express purpose when I behemoth of a monster had taken his X-wing out of the sky.

Just twelve hours ago, he had been expecting a world to shelter his people and comrades. Now, he wondered why the Death Star crew hadn't focused it's tests here. Shivering under the rapid whispers of things he couldn't identify, Luke began to make a swift run towards the city. He got perhaps thirty feet before another large monster rose out of the water and aimed it's maw at the tower in the center.

It was Alderaan all over Force warned him, even as he threw his body facedown in the dust. Something rose up shortly after that and whispered to the Jedi that he was safe.

Hours passed by as he stared in horror at the destruction simple monsters executed upon a city he didn't even know the name. For whatever reasons, Luke wondered what the Empire would have done if they'd been faced with the monsters of this Planet?

* * *

Strife tumbled across the gravel as boots scrambled to find purchase against the rocks that gave beneath his feet. The Sephiroth Clone smiled darkly at the Soldier and aimed his weapon at the diminutive blond once more. Green eyes flashed bright as the Mako burned around them. Fighting him, he was always fighting against the son of Jenova. Aerith's body had been cold in his arms only matched by the warmth of Tifa. Back and forth he matched his opponent. The Buster Sword rang with power as he brought his arms down and unleashed Braver...

Sephiroth's Clone dodged. Rolling to the left as Cloud scrambled for an escape only to find himself once more impeded by the jagged grey rocks. A sharp piece of stone cut his cheek, his blood oozing slightly green as he glared at the Clone over the edge of his blade. He was the last SOLDIER of Shin-ra. Everyone else... they were dead. Zack, the man who had taught him what he could before he died to the Infantry that fall had given him his Legacy. He'd made Cloud Strife promise to live. It was with some surprise that the blond found a glowing blade brought between them and a slight youth about his age push between him and the silver haired General.

"I'm Luke." the stranger introduced himself, doing something with his hands and pushing the clone back towards the gaping wound in the Planet's surface. "I'd say I was here to rescue you, but that seems a bit... off putting."

Cloud's glowing eyes narrowed slightly before he brought his Buster Sword into a guarded grip on his left side. "Cloud." he responded. "Let's finish this and then we can talk."


	2. assessed and motive

The fight, if it could be called that, went quickly once the stranger joined the fight. When it was finished, Cloud lowered his weapon and gave this _Luke_ a once over. The Buster Sword tilted over Cloud's back, attaching to the magnet that would hold it's weight with the edge of the sword turned upwards to prevent damage to his calves.

His weapon vanished into it's own hilt and tucked away to a side hook where the weapon hung out of the way, but easily within reach. Much like a riot rod, Cloud wondered what Shin-ra might have done with such technology if they'd known it even existed. The green glow of the Lifestream finally faded away leaving the two men alone for the first time since Luke had joined Cloud in his fight.

Following that, Cloud watched the stranger take a second look at the pile of clothes, decayed flesh, and the black goo of Jenova cells. The glowing particles of the life stream glittered between the two men and the wastelands of Midgar. "I'm not exactly from around here," Luke started. "Can you tell me anything about what's been going on?"

The blond tilted his unusually spiky head towards the pile of black clothing. "That was a human being taken over by the Jenova Virus and further manipulated by the Sephiroth Gene. We used to be... friends. He was a good person and deserved better than the fate that he was given."

The touch of the Lifestream Cloud retained in his own veins hummed at him to continue explaining. Like it was reaching out to this Luke for something that only a Cetra had been able to give the Planet... or perhaps it needed something else. Regardless, Cloud's dazed eyes glowed brighter as he continued talking.

It was on the tip of Luke's tongue to ask the name of the man whom he'd help to kill, when something warned him from saying it. Cloud had turned towards the large city and continued walking onward. Instead, he listened to the blond continue to speak. "At first, we thought everything would go better. The Planet would heal from Sephiroth's taint. The children were cured from Geostigma, residents felt the land was healing. We were all mistaken. Sephiroth came back, using the Jenova virus, the Genes he left behind, and anything else he could to end the attacks. Gaia responded by re-developing the Weapons. I lost a lot of friends in that fight. And before that, I lost even more."

Something jerked in Luke's chest in recognition. The Force was working with something else here, it wasn't sentient, but it was alive. Instinctive, present, it was the basis of Life here...

Cloud paused, looking over at Luke as something occurred to the Soldier. "You're not from Gaia, are you?"

Slowly, he shook his head no. "I'm from another world, though I can't say yours doesn't remind me of home. What happened to it?"

Cloud's eyes glittered, turning blue and green in turn as he placed that knowledge away. "When Shin-ra found a way to mine the Lifestream, they began to kill our world. Now they are planning to use the last of it to get off world and find another to continue the same process. I have no desire to see them escape Gaia. Not with the taint of Sephiroth or Jenova still in our bodies. Do you understand, Luke? That the Planet should become our tomb before we let that happen."


	3. imperative jedi

Shifting his feet in the dirt, Luke glanced around in despair at the slowly dying world around him. The man Cloud had said Gaia would be their tomb.

Yet, he couldn't see how when the Alliance was just a short call away. They could save people, perhaps even cure the disease that the other blond feared.

Gaia needed helped.

Descision made, Luke began working with the com he'd been carrying since he crashed landed. The SOS he'd sent out would call the Alliance to him in time. He wanted to have their help in signing off on a rescue mission for this world and perhaps even gain new allies in their fight against the Empire.


	4. the offer of hope

Shifting his feet in the dirt, Luke glanced around in despair at the slowly dying world around him. The man Cloud had said Gaia would be their tomb.

Yet, he couldn't see how when the Alliance was just a short call away. They could save people, perhaps even cure the disease that the other blond feared.

Gaia needed helped.

Descision made, Luke began working with the com he'd been carrying since he crashed landed. The SOS he'd sent out would call the Alliance to him in time. He wanted to have their help in signing off on a rescue mission for this world and perhaps even gain new allies in their fight against the Empire.

"Cloud, perhaps there is something my friends can do for your world. This place, the people that live here don't have to die." Luke said, locking his eyes on the glowing eyes of his newest companion. "My friends are going to come here looking for me. They can help."


End file.
